Lizardstripe's Secret
by Contrary To Popular Belief
Summary: Lizardstripe Yellowfang switch. Lizardstripe must deal with a dark destiny while trying to distance herself from the kit she gave up. Spoilers for Yellowfang's Secret. AU
1. Tanglekit

**Hahaha . . . after all the Warriors stories I thought of, this ends up being the one I upload first. XD**

**I had this idea . . . I dunno, ages ago now. XD A few things you should know when reading:**

**Brokentail will not be evil.**

**Lizardstripe is a med cat who fell in love with Mudclaw (ShadowClan Mudclaw, not the WindClan one. XD Seriously, there was a ShadowClan warrior called Mudclaw.)**

**Sagewhisker will not be in this story. I don't know why . . . I just don't like her. :P**

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**Chapter One: Tanglekit**

Lizardstripe stared down vacantly at her one surviving she-kit. She was a scruffy brown tabby, larger than the others, which was probably why she survived.

Without warning, the kit began to wail. Lizardstripe quickly flopped down and guided the kitten to her belly. 'Be quiet!' she hissed, though she knew it was pointless. 'Do you want to bring the whole Clan down on our heads?'

As the kit suckled, Lizardstripe began to wonder what she would do back at camp. Show the kit to Mudclaw, she supposed, though he had never given any indication that he would care. She knew that the tom she loved disliked kits, and had never shown any interest in hers.

Another thought was pushing its way to the surface. _I'm a medicine cat! I can't have kits! _Troubled by this, she started to think about what she would say to her Clan. _I'll have to give the kit to Yellowfang, _she thought reluctantly. She had never liked Yellowfang very much, but the grumpy gray she-cat was the only one in the nursery at the moment. She would have to do.

Gray light began to filter through the hole in the tree, and Lizardstripe rose stiffly to her paws. All her muscles ached, and her head spun uncomfortably. She pushed her head out into the open, blinking as weak sunlight hit her eyes.

A whine from the kit stirred her into action. She picked up the small brown bundle by her scruff, and headed in the direction of the camp. Before entering, she set down her kit and gave herself a throrough wash, so no cat would guess what she had been through.

To her relief, the first cat she saw was Mudclaw. The dark brown tom looked up at the sound of his name, frowning when he saw the kit. 'Only one?'

'Keep it down!' hissed Lizardstripe, looking around discreetly. 'Yes, only one. The others died.'

If she had been expecting any sort of sympathy from her mate, she received none. A look of disappointment crossed his face briefly, then he turned away. 'Well? What are you going to do?'

'Give her to Yellowfang.' she muttered, turning in the direction of the nursery.

As Lizardstripe entered the nursery, she saw Yellowfang curled around her three kits, apparently asleep. Raggedpelt was there too, curled protectively around his mate, with his head resting on her flank. His head snapped up as the medicine cat entered, and he sat up, looking slightly embarrassed to be caught in such a position.

Yellowfang looked up more slowly. Her eyes fell on the kit. 'Whose kit is that?' she demanded, frowning.

'I don't know,' Lizardstripe forced out the words. 'I found her in the forest. Some rogues must have abandoned her.' She set the kit down at Yellowfang's forepaws. 'I . . . was hoping you'd look after her.'

Raggedpelt had remained silent through Lizardstripe's speech, but he leapt up now, looking annoyed. 'You can't ask her to do that! She has three kits already!

Yellowfang hissed, 'Don't talk about me like I'm not here!' Raggedpelt subsided, glaring at his mate.

Lizardstripe nudged the kit forward, with a hopeful look at Yellowfang. _I must look like a complete idiot, _she thought sourly.

'Scruffy little thing, isn't she?' Yellowfang sniffed at the tiny bundle of fur, which let out a pathetic whine. Most queens would have found this cute, but not Yellowfang. Lizardstripe meowed a quick agreement, so as not to sound too much like it mattered.

'I'll take her.' the gray-furred queen announced after an awkward pause. In spite of herself, Lizardstripe felt a pang of relief. _ I shouldn't care! _she thought fiercely. _I wasn't meant to have kits in the first place!_ But the fierce, protective feeling remained. In fact, it took all her willpower to nudge the kit forward so Yellowfang could scoop her up into the nest.

Raggedpelt gave his mate a look that rested between disapproving and downright angry. He whipped around, glared at Lizardstripe briefly, then stormed out of the nursery.

She turned to follow him after a few awkward seconds of staring at the kit. As she pushed her head out of the nursery entrance, a meow from Yellowfang called her back. 'Hey! Have you named the kit?'

Taken aback, Lizardstripe turned to look at the kit and Yellowfang. The queen was looking at her in a way that made Lizardstripe feel uncomfortable. _Does she know something?_

'Tanglekit.' she said, after more time had passed than was quite necessary in order to think of a name. 'She's Tanglekit.'

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**So, whatcha think? Please review. Oh, and Erin Hunter owns Warriors.**


	2. Useless

**Chapter Two: Useless**

_I'm finally safe. There's no reason for the Clan to guess that I had kits._

_But Yellowfang might. Remember that look she gave you?_

_Don't be a mousebrain. Cats don't usually suspect something unless they have a good reason._

_But you showed too much concern. She's sure to think something's up. And don't even get me started on what Raggedpelt might think . . ._

Lizardstripe shook her head so hard that her ears made a flapping noise. _Stop being an idiot! _she scolded herself. _You're acting like a deluded elder! Oh, there I go again . . ._

She lay down on the sun-warmed ground outside the medicine den, enjoying the sun-high warmth that soaked into her fur. As she closed her eyes, Lizardstripe found her thoughts drifting away. The image of Tanglekit materialized in her mind, as it so often did these days. She had been doing her best to stay away from the nursery, except for routine check-ups. When she had visited, Tanglekit had been an anonymous scrap of fur, hiding under a clump of moss or behind Yellowfang. The other kits paid little to no attention to her.

A shrill meow disturbed Lizardstripe's thoughts. 'Watch, Brokenkit! I can jump right over Lizardstripe!'

A second later, there was a small grunt, and something heavy landed on Lizardstripe's stomach. She let out an irritated yowl and jumped up, shaking off the weight. The kit landed on the ground in a dusty heap. It turned out to be Sootkit. Of all Yellowfang's kits, Sootkit was the most adventurous—and the most annoying.

Lizardstripe thrust her face close to Sootkit's. 'What do you think you're doing, you little furball?' she hissed, supressing an urge to cuff the dark gray kit. Before she had to turn away to avoid this, a peal of laughter came from Sootkit's brother. 'Looks like you can't!' he snickered, pounding the ground with small forepaws.

Sootkit huffed. 'It's not funny, Brokenkit!' She flounced away, whipping her brother in the face with her fluffy tail as she passed him.

Still giggling, the dark brown tom kit followed her more slowly. He had been born with a tail that was bent like a broken branch, but now that he was older, his thick fur made it look slightly better.

A muffled squeak from the nursery made Lizardstripe look up. Yellowfang's head appeared at the entrance, pushing her third kit, Maplekit, in front of her. Lizardstripe heard part of what she was saying to the pale brown kit. '. . . can't hide in here your whole life!'

After Yellowfang, a fourth kit padded slowly out. Lizardstripe's breath caught in her throat as she recognized who it was._ Tanglekit._

This was the first time she had seen her kit in daylight. Tanglekit was much bigger than when Lizardstripe had last seen her, even though she had not quite caught up with the other kits. Her dark brown fur was fluffed up, and she looked around with wide green eyes. Lizardstripe felt a strange pang in her heart. _She's so little . . ._

Tanglekit abruptly gave a squeal and tackled Maplekit, flattening her to the ground. Maplekit squeaked and went limp in surrender.

'Mouse-brain!' sniffed Sootkit. 'That's not how you do it!' She bunched her small muscles and flung herself at Tanglekit. The smaller kit squealed in protest and battered Sootkit with tiny paws, but she couldn't throw off her denmate. Finally, she gave up and glared up at Sootkit with more venom than Lizardstripe had thought was possible.

'And that,' announced Sootkit, allowing Tanglekit to get up, 'is how you defeat a _rogue_.' She stared pointedly at Tanglekit as she said this. Lizardstripe's heart sank.

Tanglekit's fur bristled. 'I'm not a rogue!' she yowled, crouching down as if she wanted to spring at Sootkit and flatten her.

'Well, what are you, then? A _Clan _cat wouldn't abandon their kit in the forest!' sneered Sootkit. Then her eyes narrowed scornfully. 'You're a rogue! Or . . . you could be a _kittypet_!' Her littermates cackled at this, even Maplekit, who had obviously recovered from her snubbing.

Tanglekit shrieked, 'I am _not_ a kittypet! Or a rogue!'

'Maybe she's both!' suggested Brokenkit, prompting howls of laughter from his sisters.

'I'm NOT!' wailed Tanglekit, lashing her tail. Lizardstripe decided it was time to step in.

'What are you cackling about?' she snarled, moving forward to look Brokenkit in the eye. 'Hasn't Yellowfang ever told you not to gossip about cats?'

'No, she does it too.' put in Sootkit helpfully, with a twitch of her ear. Lizardstripe snorted. _So small, and she already has all her mother's mannerisms. _

'Well, I'm sure your mother doesn't pick on cats who are smaller than her.' she retorted, glaring at Sootkit. To her credit, the gray kit did make an attempt to look sorry. 'Well . . .' she muttered. 'I guess not.'

'Don't you do it either, then.' snapped Lizardstripe. She whipped around and returned to her spot in the sun. _Kits! They're barely three moons old and they start carrying rumours!_

Then her heart sank even further than before when she heard Tanglekit say smugly, 'Well, you know what, Sootkit? _You're _a kittypet.'

'Am not!' cried Sootkit. Maplekit's querulous voice sounded next. 'Weren't you listening to Lizardstripe? She said not to gossip!'

'But your father's a kittypet.' meowed Tanglekit, sounded satisfied with herself. Lizardstripe groaned inwardly.

'Raggedpelt is not a kittypet!' yowled Sootkit, striking out with a forepaw and cuffing Tanglekit sharply over the head. Tanglekit squeaked in protest and hit back. Her paw harmlessly caught the tip of Sootkit's ear.

Yellowfang's voice sounded behind them. 'Hey! Stop fighting, both of you!' She dragged Sootkit back by her scruff and plopped her down a few tail-lengths away from her smaller denmate. 'What are you two squabbling about _now_?'

_They were squabbling before? _Lizardstripe let out a long sigh.

'She called Raggedpelt a _kittypet_!' Maplekit informed her mother, stressing the word _kittypet _more than was necessary.

'Thank you for your input,' meowed Yellowfang dryly. 'Now get back in the nursery. All of you.'

Something in her tone sent all three of her kits falling over themselves to get back inside. Yellowfang grabbed Tanglekit before she could follow them.

'As for _you_,' growled the irate queen, 'You've caused nothing but trouble ever since you opened your eyes. StarClan help your mentor—that is, if you ever become an apprentice.'

Tanglekit's eyes widened fearfully at the thought of not being apprenticed. 'But I—

'Be quiet,' hissed Yellowfang. She looked up briefly, and caught sight of Lizardstripe watching unobtrusively from a distance. 'Go and help Lizardstripe. Make yourself useful for once. And if I hear that you've made a nuisance of yourself, you are confined to the nursery. Do you hear me?'

Tanglekit nodded rapidly, her leaf-green eyes wide, then turned and ran in the direction of the medicine den. Yellowfang gave her flank a parting cuff to help her along, then huffed—sounding like an older version of Sootkit—and stomped off to the nursery.

Lizardstripe padded slowly up to Tanglekit, looking the sullen kit in the eyes. 'Well,' she said softly. 'We'd better find you something to do.'

* * *

'I can't get the hang of this!' snapped Tanglekit, batting at her badly-formed moss ball. It promptly came to pieces, provoking an angry yowl from the kit.

Lizardstripe sighed and gathered the pieces of moss together, then deftly rolled them about until they stuck together, more or less. She glanced over her shoulder at Tanglekit. Her daughter had that intense poisonous look again. She looked as if she wanted to tear apart everything in reach.

'Look,' the medicine cat said, after several failed attempts to think of something affirming to say. 'If you can't do this, I can get you to . . . um . . .'

The fact was, they had tried everything.

They had tried sorting herbs, but Tanglekit had trouble remembering them. Lizardstripe had managed to get Tanglekit to remove some ticks from the elders, but the ill-tempered kit balked at the prospect of using mouse bile. She couldn't go with Lizardstripe to gather herbs, because she was too young to leave the camp. These and quite a few other options had been tried, and had all failed embarassingly.

'I'm useless, aren't I?' Tanglekit sulked, when they were sitting in the medicine den, with Lizardstripe trying to separate parsley from yarrow, after Tanglekit had messed them up. 'I'm only good for arguing and annoying Yellowfang.'

There was a hint of a purr in her voice as she said these last words, but she still looked totally downcast. Lizardstripe made a noise that was halfway between sympathy and annoyance, and left her herbs to sit beside her charge. 'That's not true,' she murmured. 'I bet you'll be an excellent warrior.'

'But Yellowfang says I'm not good enough to be an apprentice,' muttered Tanglekit. 'I'll probably be exiled or something.'

'Of course you won't! Every kit gets apprenticed.'

'Not me.' grumbled the kit. 'Now what am I going to tell Yellowfang? She wanted me to help you. I'll be in big trouble!'

Before Lizardstripe could reply, there was a meow at the den entrance. 'Did some cat say my name?'

Yellowfang's flattened face showed in the entrance. 'Time to come home.' she meowed at Tanglekit. 'Have you been helping?' She glanced up at Lizardstripe as she said this.

'Oh, she's been helping!' Lizardstripe meowed quickly. 'We did lots of things.'

'That's nice. Just don't bore me with the details,' muttered Yellowfang. She laid her tail over Tanglekit's shoulders, ushering her out. As she left, Tanglekit shot a grateful glance over her shoulder. Lizardstripe smiled back briefly, then turned back to the herb piles.

She couldn't help feeling slightly worried about her daughter. Tanglekit was obviously a born troublemaker. 'Oh, StarClan,' she mumbled to herself. 'Please let Tanglekit find her place.'

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**Aww, only three moons old and she already has a personality. ^.^ How cute is that? XD  
**

**Please review and tell me what you think! More characters will be involved soon. **

**Erin Hunter owns Warriors. I only own the story idea, Sootkit and Maplekit, and Tanglekit's new personality. :D**


	3. A Little Blottchy

**Hey, it's a new chapter! :D I'd like to thank munchkineater and Featherpool16 for reviewing. :) Now, the chapter. **

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**Chapter Three: A Little Blottchy**

'There you go,' meowed Lizardstripe approvingly, watching Maplekit gulp down the herbs. 'You'll be fine in at least a moon if you rest.'

Brokenkit had escorted his sister to the medicine den when she had sneezed one too many times in his face. He was here now, watching his sister eat her herbs. 'It's greencough, isn't it?' he mewled, with morbid curiosity.

'Of course not, silly kit. It's a mild case of whitecough and she'll be all better before the next full moon.'

Brokenkit looked slightly crestfallen. 'But whitecough can turn into greencough, can't it?' Maplekit let out a whimper.

Lizardstripe looked hard at him. 'Don't tempt fate.' She turned to Maplekit. 'And stop whining. Your brother's a mouse-brain and you know it.'

Maplekit giggled. 'Yeah, he is.'

Just then, Yellowfang popped her head in. 'You haven't seen Sootkit and Tanglekit anywhere, have you?' Her voice was taut with annoyance, and her fur was ruffled even more than usual.

Lizardstripe held back a grin. 'Well, by asking the way you did, you're implying that you hope I haven't seen them—or maybe that you don't want them to be found, or . . .'

'_Lizardstripe_.'

'. . . No, I haven't seen them since you got them in trouble for putting dirt in Nightpaw's nest.'

Lately, the two kits had developed a habit of playing pranks on the other kits and apprentices, though they still fought regularly. To Lizardstripe, it looked as though their friendship was strictly business.

'I saw them!' Maplekit piped up. 'They snuck out of camp when I was coming here. They tried to get Brokenkit to come with them, but they didn't ask me. How come no one ever asks me to play with them, Yellowfang?'

'Because you're sensible,' replied Yellowfang shortly. She twitched her ears at Lizardstripe. 'We're looking for them.'

'Hang on . . . why me?'

Yellowfang made no reply. She sniffed the air as they left the camp. 'They went this way.' she announced, and set off through the scrubby undergrowth.

'Can't imagine how they managed to cooperate this far,' muttered Lizardstripe as they entered the pine forest. Yellowfang grunted in agreement, but just then there was a squeal up ahead of them. Lizardstripe looked up to see Sootkit pelting towards them as fast as her small paws could carry her. She barreled into Yellowfang, and lay on the ground, panting.

'Hey, take it easy,' meowed Yellowfang. 'What's wrong now?'

Sootkit gulped a mouthful of air, then mewed, 'Tanglekit's . . . in a tree . . . and there's a . . .' She took another exaggerated gasp.

'Drama queen,' mewed Yellowfang peevishly. 'Come on. I suppose we must find your friend.' She resumed walking.

'She isn't my friend!' protested Sootkit. 'And you have to _run_! There's a . . .'

A pathetic squeal sounded up ahead. 'Heeeelp! I'm stuuuuuck!'

Yellowfang rolled her eyes skyward and started to run, with Lizardstripe and Sootkit on her heels. Soon they came to a particularly tall tree. Looking up, Lizardstripe saw a small brown shape dangling from a high branch. 'Tanglekit!' she called out, then felt slightly embarrassed at her outburst.

Tanglekit glanced down at them. 'Oh, you're here!' she mewed happily.

'_Tanglekit_!' roared Yellowfang. 'What are you doing up there. Get your tail down here this instant!'

'Can't,' came the perfectly cheerful mew. 'I'm stuck.'

Lizardstripe stepped forward and put a paw on the tree trunk. 'Oh, come on,' she meowed in what she guessed was a kind tone. 'How did you get up there in the first place?'

'Well . . . um . . .'

Some instinct made Lizardstripe turn around and scan the undergrowth. What she saw nearly made her jump out of her pelt.

'I was hiding from the fox.' replied Tanglekit after some consideration. Yellowfang gave a sigh of annoyance. 'What fox?'

'Um . . . Yellowfang?'

'Oh. _That _fox.'

* * *

'This has to stop.' growled Cedarstar, looking pointedly at the mud-spattered kits. Sootkit looked suitably penitent, but Tanglekit was slumping on her paws, her eyes darting around as if she was looking for an escape route. Raggedpelt stood behind his daughter, looking embarrassed and angry to have to defend her. Yellowfang was laid up in the medicine den with wounds that would keep her from warrior duties for at least a moon.

Lizardstripe watched the kits, trying to ignore the pain from a gash in her side. As much as she was angry with them, she was relieved that neither of them had taken any serious injuries. On Yellowfang's order, Sootkit had raced back to camp to get help. But even with three other warriors to help, the fox had not been driven off without leaving them something to remember it by.

'Your little pranks have annoyed your Clanmates for long enough now, but this is beyond a joke,' the leader continued, pacing back and forth in front of the kits. 'Thanks to you two, ShadowClan's only medicine cat and a perfectly good warrior have been injured. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?'

'It wasn't a prank!' blurted Sootkit. 'How were we supposed to know about the fox?'

This earned her a slap over the ear from Raggedpelt's tail. 'Maybe you could have stayed in camp in the first place?' the deputy meowed icily.

'I'm sorry,' murmured Sootkit, looking crushed. Tanglekit echoed her with much less feeling.

'So you should be,' meowed Cedarstar. 'As you have caused so much trouble, your apprenticeships will be delayed by one moon.'

'_What_?' wailed the kits, almost at the same moment.

Cedarstar glared at them. 'You will also be as helpful as you can around the camp. I'm sure Lizardstripe has plenty of chores for you to do.'

Lizardstripe sighed inwardly. _Not again! _Then she realized that Cedarstar was looking at her expectantly, so she pulled on a stern face and nodded in agreement.

'That's settled, then.' said Cedarstar. He turned to leave, and Raggedpelt followed him, giving Sootkit's ear a parting flick with his tail. Tanglekit looked resentful for a heartbeat, then the expression left her face and she turned to Lizardstripe. 'I suppose you should find us something to do, then.'

Lizardstripe did not miss the look that passed between Sootkit and Tanglekit. But, to her eternal vexation, she did not pay any attention to it.

* * *

'Alright, who put a rotten mouse in my dock leaves?' yowled Lizardstripe. A giggle behind her made the medicine cat whirl around. Of course, the owner of the giggle was Tanglekit. Sootkit just stared at her with wide amber eyes.

'I've had it with you kits!' snapped Lizardstripe, acutely aware that Tanglekit had swapped to a pleading expression that said, _'You wouldn't really get me in trouble, would you?' _She ignored the stare and went on. 'Cedarstar ordered you to help me, not pull pranks on me!'

Sootkit and Tanglekit looked at their paws, unwilling to meet her eyes.

Lizardstripe let out a snort of anger and turned away from them. This wasn't the first time they had done stupid things like this. It had been three days since the kits' punishment had started. They had been relatively good the first day, but yesterday she had found Tanglekit, Sootkit, and Brokenkit rolling in the moss store, crushing it so that most of it was useless. And the day before that, the two wayward kits had helped her gather catmint, then pretended to be intoxicated by the herb for the rest of the day.

'Listen,' she snarled. 'If you don't behave yourselves, I'm going to have to tell Cedarstar.'

Sootkit jumped forward. 'Please don't do that!' she said. 'You'll make him delay our apprenticeships even more!'

'That isn't my problem,' Lizardstripe replied coldly. 'Now, I'm going to the Moonstone tonight, and if I hear that you've behaved badly when I come back, I _will _tell Cedarstar.'

Both kits nodded vigorously. Lizardstripe flicked her tail at them. 'Now go away. I don't want to see either of you.'

As they left, Lizardstripe heard Tanglekit say to her companion, 'Don't worry if they punish us. Some cat told me once that you have to do what you want, even if you get punished.'

Sootkit's ears pricked up with interest. 'Who was that?'

'Oh, nobody.' Tanglekit shrugged. 'Let's go and find Brokenkit.'

Lizardstripe frowned. _Where did Tanglekit pull that from? _But her mind was already on other things as she left camp for the Moonstone. The kit was probably just making things up.

* * *

**Hahaha, poor Lizardstripe. The punishments never work out, do they? XD One daggy medicine cat is no match for a pair of sharp-minded prankers. ^_^**

**Please review. Erin Hunter owns Warriors an' all that.**


	4. You're Impossible

**Hello, fellow evil minions! Today, we have a very special point of view, from none other than . . . Brokenkit! Or Brokenpaw, as he becomes. ^_^ Thankyou for reading!**

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**Chapter Four: You're Impossible**

'Tanglekit, from this day forward, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Tanglepaw.' Cedarstar's voice carried clearly around the camp. 'Foxheart, you will be Tanglepaw's mentor. You have shown yourself to be a, brave, intelligent warrior. I know you will pass these qualities on to Tanglepaw.'

'I will.' mewed Foxheart, touching noses with the newly named Tanglepaw. To Lizardstripe's puzzlement, she did not seem proud to be given an apprentice.

The Clan called out the names of the new apprentices. 'Sootpaw! Tanglepaw!' Sootpaw had been apprenticed to Blackfoot, and a moon before, Maplepaw had been apprenticed to Cloudpelt, and Brokenpaw to Nightpelt.

There were a few mutters as Tanglepaw touched noses with her mentor, as if some cats thought that the rogue kit was lucky to be apprenticed at all. In Lizardstripe's mind, she _was_ lucky, but not for that reason. A couple of moons previously, Tanglepaw had caught Maplepaw's whitecough, and she was still sniffly. Lizardstripe didn't know how the young she-cat would have reacted if she had had to wait even longer to be apprenticed.

The medicine cat heard Tanglepaw sneeze as Foxheart spoke to her. _Oh, StarClan. Foxheart won't be happy. _

* * *

As sunhigh came and went, the cats of ShadowClan lay in small groups in the warm sunlight, sharing tongues and talking quietly.

Yellowfang entered the camp, carrying fresh-kill in her mouth. As she laid it on the pile, Raggedpelt approached her, mewing something to her. To Lizardstripe's surprise, Foxheart was watching them closely, and her eyes narrowed as the couple touched noses and Yellowfang rubbed her cheek against Raggedpelt's.

Foxheart got up huffily and padded over to where Cloudpelt and Blackfoot were lying half-asleep near the warriors' den. She spoke briefly to them, then went over to their three apprentices.

'Training hollow. Now.' she meowed sharply, giving Sootpaw a poke to help her along.

Lizardstripe saw Brokenpaw watching the apprentices and their mentors go from the apprentices' den. He looked slightly crestfallen that he had not been invited. His mentor, Nightpelt, had been coughing that morning, and was resting in the warriors' den.

He caught sight of her and bounded over. 'Hi, Lizardstripe.' he mewed, looking hopefully at her. She gave him a half-smile, and, seeing that he was lonely, tapped the ground next to her with her tail.

He sat down, heaving a sigh. 'They think I'm no good, don't they? Just because my mentor won't train me.'

Lizardstripe shushed him absently. 'Don't let Nightpelt hear you talking like that. He's got enough to worry about without you being disrespectful.'

'I'm not!' cried Brokenpaw. 'I just want to be included.'

The way he said it made Lizardstripe wonder if Foxheart was deliberately excluding him. Brokenpaw had always been quite close to his mother, and every cat knew that Foxheart was jealous of Yellowfang for being Raggedpelt's mate.

She pushed that thought away. _That's no way for a medicine cat to be thinking! _Still, she couldn't give the impression that cats could just come to her and spill all their problems.

'Well,' she began, glancing at Brokenpaw out of the corner of her eye. 'I have plenty of chores for idle apprentices to do . . .'

To her surprise, Brokenpaw's ears pricked up. 'Okay,' he said. 'Anything. I'm _bored_.'

'Alright then. I'm gathering herbs. You can come with me and carry them.'

* * *

'WindClan! Trespassing on our territory!'

'What?' Raggedpelt's ears shot up. He stared at the gasping Maplepaw, who had half-collapsed on the ground. 'WindClan? Where?'

'By the stream!' panted the brown-and-white apprentice. 'Five of them!'

Brokenpaw looked up at his sister. _WindClan on our territory? Maybe I'll get to see some action after all! _Most of his afternoon had been spent doing jobs for Lizardstripe, and while he couldn't say that he didn't enjoy the work, he felt slightly guilty for not trying harder to get his training done.

Cedarstar came leaping out of his den, ears pricked in alarm. 'What's going on?'

Maplepaw repeated her story. Cedarstar leapt onto the Clanrock and gave the call for the Clan to gather. He explained what Maplepaw had seen.

'Raggedpelt,' he yowled. 'Take a patrol to deal with them.'

Brokenpaw watched his father's eyes dart from warrior to warrior. 'Crowtail,' he called out, 'Mudclaw, Nettlespot, Blackfoot, Brokenpaw, and Tanglepaw.'

Excitement shot through Brokenpaw as his name was called out. _I'm going to be in a battle! _Tanglepaw looked equally excited, though he caught a glimpse of her trying to stifle a cough.

Brokenpaw felt a pang of contempt. Tanglepaw might have been training more than he had, but she was still _coughing_, for StarClan's sake! He had never liked the aggressive she-cat, and he hoped she wouldn't ruin the whole thing somehow.

As they crept closer to where Maplepaw had said the WindClan cats were, Brokenpaw could smell the scent of WindClan, and hear them moving quietly up ahead. They were obviously trying very hard to be quiet.

Brokenpaw felt Tanglepaw sidle up to him. She pointed ahead with her tail and nodded excitedly.

He frowned and nodded impatiently. _StarClan, let her be quiet! _It would be just like Tanglepaw to say something stupid right now. To his relief, she shrugged and moved back.

Raggedpelt signaled with his tail that they were to go forward. Brokenpaw could see the WindClan cats now. They were all young warriors, and they were looking around nervously as if they could sense cats in the undergrowth. The breeze was blowing toward the ShadowClan patrol, though, so there was no way they could be scented.

Tanglepaw was squeezed between Brokenpaw and a tree. Her nose was twitching, though not from excitement. Her eyes flashed with alarm, and Brokenpaw's heart dropped to his paws. _Oh, StarClan, don't—_

'Ah . . . aah . . .' Tanglepaw was trying desperately to muffle her noises, but to no avail. 'Ack . . . aahh . . .'

_No, no no no nononono! Don't sneeze! StarClan—!_

'. . . SHOOO!'

The WindClan cats fled like startled rabbits.

'After them!' roared Raggedpelt. The patrol leapt out of their hiding places and pounded after their rivals. Brokenpaw knew almost at once that there would be no chance of catching them. Fear of being caught had lent speed to the WindClan warriors' paws, and they were almost at their border now.

The patrol caught up with them just as they crossed it onto the windswept moorland. 'And don't come back!' Nettlespot yowled after them.

Raggedpelt turned away with a snort of disgust. 'It's no use. They've gone.' In spite of himself, Brokenpaw felt a stab of worry. What would happen to Tanglepaw now?

* * *

There was a rustle in the bushes behind Lizardstripe. She turned around quietly and saw a mouse, half-hidden in the leaves. Slowly lowering herself in the hunting crouch, she began to stalk the tiny creature.

Just then, a cat burst out of the bushes and leapt for the mouse. Lizardstripe let out a startled yowl. The mouse darted for its hole, fear giving it speed.

'Mouse dung!' snapped the other cat. Lizardstripe looked up and saw that it was Mudclaw. An awkward silence fell over both cats.

Lizardstripe had hardly spoken to her former mate since Tanglepaw was born, only exchanging polite words with him every so often, as Clanmates should. She had no idea what he thought of her, or of their kit.

Mudclaw was the first to speak. 'You scared my mouse!'

Annoyance got the better of Lizardstripe. 'Well, I was stalking it too!' she spat, lashing her tail. It was so easy to get into an argument with Mudclaw.

'Well, it isn't any cat's mouse now, is it?'

'Thanks to you!' yowled Lizardstripe. She knew in the back of her mind that this was unreasonable, but she didn't care. It was just too much fun to provoke Mudclaw.

'Oh, and how is it my fault? If you hadn't come along, I'd have had a good piece of prey for the Clan!'

'I was just sitting here! Don't try and tell me I'm not allowed to sit in my own territory and pick herbs!'

'Well, you should have minded your own business.' snapped Mudclaw. He lashed his tail once and turned to leave.

'Wait!' Lizardstripe called after him. He whipped around, stormy-faced.

For a few heartbeats, they stood there like that, her amber eyes meeting his green ones. It had been his eyes that had drawn her in at first. Those deep green eyes that stared right into hers as if he owned her.

Lizardstripe mentally shook herself. _I can't think about that now!_ She forced herself back to the present. Trying to sound casual, she mewed, 'Mudclaw, what do you think of Tanglepaw?'

He looked irritated. 'What do you mean, what do I think of her?'

'Well, she is . . . your kit, you know.' Lizardstripe's words sounded hollow, but she forced them out as if coughing up a furball. The question had to be asked.

'_My _kit?' Mudclaw snorted. 'I think not. If you really want to know my opinion, she's the most unruly, annoying little furball that ever disgraced ShadowClan. She upset our whole ambush this evening, or haven't you heard?'

Lizardstripe groaned inwardly. _I knew that! What a time for me to ask him that question!_

Mudclaw took her silence as an invitation to continue. 'That apprentice should never have been born, if you ask me. Good night.' He marched away, treading on her careful pile of chervil as he left.

'You're impossible!' Lizardstripe yowled after him. His reply came back faintly on the night breeze. 'I don't care!'

* * *

**Hehehe. It was fun to write Mudclaw. ^_^  
**

**Review, or Tanglepaw will sneeze on you. XD Erin Hunter owns Warriors.**


	5. Warning

**Well, hello again, stalkers! It's time for another installment of _Lizardstripe's Secret_! This chapter was started thanks to my beloved Lindsey Stirling album. :D I do not know what I would do without this woman's music. ._. **

**Now, on with the story.**

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**Chapter Five: Warning**

Lizardstripe had always thought that she could have done without the few seconds between when she touched her nose to the Moonstone and when she woke in the faintly shimmering territory of StarClan. Those few seconds gave her time to worry about what she would learn, or, more accurately, what she would be told off about.

This time was like all the others: touch the Moonstone, close your eyes, get swept into StarClan's dream world. Only this time, when Lizardstripe opened her eyes, she was alone in the cavern. There was no sign of the other medicine cats.

_Is there a problem? _she wondered, looking around for some sign of life. A prickle of fear went down her spine. _Are StarClan punishing me for breaking the code?_ But deep down, she knew that was unreasonable. Several moons had passed since Tanglepaw's birth. Why would StarClan choose to punish her now?

Deep in thought as she was, Lizardstripe jumped violently when the shape of a cat emerged from the shadows. She took in the cream-coloured pelt and green eyes. 'Mallowfoot!'

She remembered this cat from when she was a kit, as a skinny elder with half her fur missing, but in StarClan, Mallowfoot's youth had been restored, and she stood tall before the medicine cat, her expression neither hostile nor welcoming. 'Hello, Lizardstripe.'

'Um . . . hello?' Lizardstripe was beginning to feel slightly worried. This was definitely not what she had been expecting.

Mallowfoot flicked her ears. 'Come on, Lizardstripe, don't you remember me?'

'Well, yes, but—

'Good. Now, come and sit down. We have some things to talk about.'

That didn't sound good.

Lizardstripe seated herself beside the StarClan warrior, trying to look at ease. The light of the Moonstone made Mallowfoot's eyes glow with an unearthly light, and her outline shimmered faintly.

'_Well_,' said Mallowfoot, not giving Lizardstripe the chance to ask questions. 'You have quite a secret, don't you?'

Lizardstripe automatically flattened her ears defensively. 'It's not my—

'_Lizardstripe_. Don't sit there and tell me it's not your fault. Who else have you got to blame besides yourself?'

'Well, Mudclaw . . .' Lizardstripe trailed off, realizing how immature she sounded. The least she could do was own up and take her punishment like a warrior. 'I—I suppose it is my fault.' she said, feeling as if she were throwing up burrs with each word.

Mallowfoot nodded slowly, as if that was exactly what she wanted to hear. 'Now, I ask you, Lizardstripe, are you proud of yourself for breaking the medicine cat code without getting punished?'

Lizardstripe's mouth dropped open. 'Of course not! I don't—

'Who do you think you're fooling?' Mallowfoot looked harder at Lizardstripe and her voice dropped to a menacing hiss. 'Every day, you think to yourself, _'Oh, good, they don't know yet. My plan is working.'_ You _are_ proud of yourself, Lizardstripe, and you know it.'

Lizardstripe swallowed hard, realizing that she did know it.

'Do you think others would be proud of you? What about your sweet mother, Creamstripe? Do you think you've lived up to her reputation?'

Lizardstripe bristled with fear and anger. That stung. Her mother had died when she was still a kit, but she knew other cats had thought highly of the pretty young warrior. 'Why are you doing this to me?' she almost yelled. 'If you know all this stuff, why are you asking me?'

Mallowfoot did not answer, but her blazing eyes sent a message of fury that made Lizardstripe sit back and attempt to smooth her pelt.

'Are—are you going to punish me, then?' she meowed more quietly, feeling very much like a kit who had been caught outside camp by itself.

To her surprise, Mallowfoot's eyes lost their fury and she began to purr with laughter. 'Oh, that isn't for me to decide. Maybe you'll live in fear, wondering what your punishment will be. Or maybe you'll be so racked with guilt that one day you'll just own up yourself . . .'

Suddenly, a new voice could be heard in the cavern. 'Mallowfoot, stop.'

Lizardstripe's ears snapped up as she caught sight of the newcomer. It was a thin dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a ginger mark on her face.

She hissed at the other StarClan cat. 'This is not impressive, Mallowfoot. Are you happy to provoke cats like this?'

Mallowfoot sniffed. 'I apologize, Vetchwhisker.' she said easily, not sounding sorry at all.

Vetchwhisker lashed her tail once. 'Now, leave, if you please. I expect better behaviour from my former apprentice!' Mallowfoot snorted and walked away, her outline getting fainter and fainter until she could not be seen at all.

When she was gone, Vetchwhisker turned to Lizardstripe. 'I'm sorry you had to see that.' she said smoothly.

'That's . . . okay, I suppose.' mewed Lizardstripe, feeling worse than ever. What did _this_ cat want to say to her?

'I'm glad. Now, you might not have heard of me. I'm Vetchwhisker, and I was ShadowClan's medicine cat a long time ago, before your mother was born.' The StarClan cat went on without giving Lizardstripe a chance to reply. 'Mallowfoot was right: you do have quite a secret. And you are pleased with yourself for outsmarting your Clan.'

Lizardstripe sighed, frustrated. Reminding her of what she had done wrong was something StarClan excelled at.

Vetchwhisker seemed to sense her exasperation. 'That isn't a bad thing.' she said bluntly. Lizardstripe looked up, startled.

'I think you did the right thing, actually.'

'You do?'

'Well, considering the choices you had, you did rather well.' Vetchwhisker meowed evenly. Lizardstripe's eyes widened. 'Did you—?'

'No,' replied Vetchwhisker, answering her question before it was even finished. 'I did not have kits, but that's not important.' She looked hard at Lizardstripe. 'Now, I can tell you that hard times are coming. You will need all the strength you have. Keep it, do you hear me?'

Lizardstripe nodded, slightly confused. 'Vetchwhisker?'

'Yes?'

'Well . . .' Lizardstripe swallowed, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to her question. 'I was wondering if you knew . . . well, does—does Mudclaw still . . . love me?'

She closed her mouth abruptly, feeling her ears grow hot. She expected Vetchwhisker to scold her, or be angry, or something, but the dark she-cat's expression did not change.

'I don't blame you for wanting to know,' meowed Vetchwhisker, 'And I can say that in his heart, Mudclaw does care for you. The reason why he doesn't show it is because he's afraid.'

'Afraid? Why?'

Vetchwhisker sighed, as if she did not want to explain. 'Lizardstripe, you broke the code of medicine cats when you had kits, and the law of StarClan says you must be punished. Mudclaw knows this, and he doesn't want some of that punishment to fall on him. That's why he is keeping his distance as much as possible. He thinks any concern that he shows for you or Tanglepaw will be held against him. Now do you understand why he wants nothing to do with you?'

'No.' snapped Lizardstripe. _If he loves me, he won't care about the punishment!_ Then another thought occurred to her. 'Do you mean he _will _be punished as well?'

Vetchwhisker frowned. 'I can't tell you that,' she meowed. 'Your time is running out.' She began to fade, until Lizardstripe could see the stones of the cavern through her.

'Wait!' cried the medicine cat. 'Don't go!' But Vetchwhisker was gone already. Lizardstripe awoke in total darkness, heart thumping fearfully. It took a moment before she realized that she was back in the land of the living, lying between Brambleberry and Featherwhisker.

The other medicine cats were waking up. Lizardstripe gave her ruffled fur a few quick licks and tried to calm her racing heart. It wouldn't do any good to let the others know that she had had a disturbing dream.

To her relief, no one noticed in the darkness of the Moonstone cave. But when they emerged into the outside world, she noticed Featherwhisker looking at her curiously.

'Are you okay?' he asked quietly, as they started away from Mothermouth. 'You look disturbed. Is it bad news?'

'Nothing that would affect ThunderClan,' she told him rather icily. 'You don't need to worry.'

'Oh, that's okay.' Featherwhisker looked slightly hurt, which annoyed Lizardstripe even more. 'I just thought there might be something I could do to help, that's all.'

Lizardstripe had to stop her pelt from bristling. 'No, there's nothing you can do.' she replied through gritted teeth. 'I don't need help from ThunderClan. And I believe I have to go home now.'

She parted ways with the nosy apprentice, sighing impatiently. _The little stalker! What makes him think he can just ask about ShadowClan business? And why does he care, anyway? _

* * *

**Featherwhisker, you stalker. XD Anyway, if you haven't read Yellowfang's Secret, you won't really get why Featherwhisker is so nosy. So I'll just say that when he was an apprentice, he was told by a mysterious StarClan cat that destruction would come to ThunderClan, brought by a ShadowClan medicine cat. So yeah. **

**And, doncha just love StarClan. I just couldn't resist putting that in. :P**

**Please review. And I have put disclaimers in every other chapter, so you should know that I don't own Warriors. And if you didn't read those chapters . . . WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOT READING IN ORDER? GO BACK AND READ IT PROPERLY. NOW. XD  
**


	6. The Dream

**Hi there. ^.^ I'm happy to be back with another chapter! Thanks for reading.**

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**Chapter Six: The Dream**

'My littermates are idiots.' grumbled Brokenpaw, wandering into the medicine den, as he often did nowadays.

Lizardstripe shot him a sympathetic look. 'What've they done now?'

He flicked his crooked tail behind him. 'Go and see.'

When she looked outside, Lizardstripe bristled with rage. She saw the two sisters sitting on either side of Tanglepaw, who had jammed her paws over her ears. Sootpaw was talking.

'. . . and maybe one day, she's just going to run away like the scared kittypet that she is! What do you think, Maplepaw?'

Before the brown apprentice could respond, Tanglepaw launched herself up and jumped on Maplepaw, pinning her to the ground. Unlike the time when she was a kit, Maplepaw fought back, battering at Tanglepaw with claws sheathed. However, Tanglepaw had different ideas.

'Ouch!' shrieked Maplepaw. 'Keep your claws in!'

Lizardstripe looked around, wondering if anyone was going to break up their fight. She noticed Foxheart relaxing a little way apart from the apprentices. Her whiskers were twitching with amusement as she watched the apprentices argue.

Practically burning with rage at the irresponsible mentor, Lizardstripe stalked over and gave both apprentices a whack with her paw. 'What do you two think you're doing?' she hissed. 'You're both behaving like kits!'

Maplepaw shrugged, and Lizardstripe turned on her, feeling angrier by the second. 'Especially you, Maplepaw. You shouldn't have to be scolded like a kit!'

She cast a swift glance at Tanglepaw, hoping her daughter would be happy that she was intervening. But instead, Tanglepaw was glaring at her with such a venomous look that Lizardstripe had to look away and hope that she had imagined it. But she hadn't. The look was still there when Maplepaw had followed Sootpaw out of earshot.

'Why did you do that?' hissed the apprentice. 'I could have beaten her!'

'That's not the point,' growled Lizardstripe, trying to stay calm. 'You're not to go around fighting with your Clanmates. How do you think that will help you to trust them?'

'They don't trust _me_,' muttered Tanglepaw, looking slightly triumphant in spite of her words. 'They think I'm just some rogue. Everyone hates me!'

'No, they don't!' snapped Lizardstripe. 'Get over yourself. You're not the most important apprentice in ShadowClan. Everyone doesn't have to be nice to you!'

'But they all spread lies about me. Foxheart even told Yellowfang she think's I'm half-Clan. I'll never be a good warrior!'

'You don't really _believe_ all that stuff about half-Clans, do you?'

'_I'm not half-Clan_!' yowled Tanglepaw, loud enough for the whole camp to hear. Lizardstripe's pelt burned with embarrassment as several cats' heads went up. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yellowfang watching them with narrowed eyes. It was then that Lizardstripe realized how alike she and Tanglepaw must look.

To her relief, nobody commented. Tanglepaw whipped around and headed for her den, tail lashing.

Foxheart breezed past Lizardstripe, smirking. 'Problems, Lizardstripe?' she murmured. Her tone made Lizardstripe want to claw the smug she-cat's eyes out, but she forced herself to reply calmly.

'None at all, Foxheart.' the medicine cat meowed sweetly. Foxheart snorted and began to walk away, but Lizardstripe called her back sharply.

'What is it?' hissed Foxheart, all light tones gone.

'I want to know why you've been treating Tanglepaw like this,' growled Lizardstripe. 'You're her mentor. You should know better than to make her feel worthless. What's your reason?'

To her surprise, the ginger she-cat's eyes widened in indignation. 'Whatever gave you the idea I was treating her badly, Lizardstripe? Maybe I don't encourage her a lot, but I never made her feel _worthless_! Where did you hear that?'

'Well, she told me . . .' Suddenly, Lizardstripe's argument sounded hollow.

'Oh, don't believe anything she _tells_ you! Tanglepaw can get terribly dramatic sometimes, you know. Not that I blame you, though, for believing her.' Foxheart's final tone indicated that the conversation was over, but Lizardstripe had one more question. 'Why didn't you do anything when Tanglepaw and Maplepaw were fighting? Don't you care about that?'

Foxheart looked at Lizardstripe for a long time, eyes narrowed. Finally, she gave her answer, which was really a question. 'Why do _you _care so much, anyway, Lizardstripe?'

Lizardstripe's ears flattened defensively. 'I brought her here! Don't you think I should care about her well-being?'

Another searching look, then Foxheart replied. 'What can I do, Lizardstripe? I'm not responsible for what other cats think of her. And you have to admit, she's not exactly giving herself a good reputation . . .'

Lizardstripe blocked out the rest of Foxheart's sentence. She turned and went to the medicine den. Brokenpaw was still there, staring at her neat herb piles and reciting something under his breath. He started when she walked in, stiffening defensively. 'Hi, Lizardstripe! I was just—

'You can look all you want,' Lizardstripe informed him. 'Just don't mess it up.' She flopped down heavily in her nest, ready to go to sleep and forget about Foxheart and Tanglepaw and everything else that had been worrying her lately.

'Lizardstripe?' Brokenpaw's voice startled her just as she was drifting off. 'Can I talk to you about something?'

'Really, Brokenpaw,' groaned Lizardstripe. 'I'm _sleeping_.'

'Not now, you aren't.' he mewed triumphantly. 'Now, can I ask you a serious question?'

'What?' Lizardstripe raised her head, staring reproachfully at the young apprentice.

'Well . . .' Brokenpaw shuffled his paws awkwardly. 'I've been thinking a lot, and I was wondering, could I become your apprentice?'

He said the last words all in a rush. Lizardstripe's eyes widened. 'Are you sure, Brokenpaw? I always thought you wanted to be a great warrior.'

'Well, I did, but somehow I felt like . . . well, you understand, don't you?'

Lizardstripe nodded slowly. She did remember when she was a young warrior, and StarClan had shown her that it was her destiny to be a medicine cat. The Clan had been surprised, of course—especially Mudclaw. He had been furious, in fact, but now wasn't the time to start thinking about Mudclaw . . .

She shook herself and addressed Brokenpaw. 'Give yourself time to think about it. Are you sure this is what you're supposed to do, or are you just trying to escape your boring mentor?'

Totally serious for once, Brokenpaw shook his head vigorously. 'I'm not!'

'Okay then,' Lizardstripe looked carefully at him, seeing no sign that he was joking. 'I want you to think about it. If you still think that this is your destiny, then I won't stop you. Just make sure you really want to do this . . .'

'Okay, I will,' Brokenpaw scrambled to his feet. 'I don't think it's necessary, though. I've been thinking about it for ages.'

'Still. Also, you might want to tell your mother.'

The young apprentice shrugged and left. Lizardstripe rolled over, burying her face in the moss of her nest. If all went well, she would have an apprentice to train as ShadowClan's next medicine cat. The thought made her feel excited and anxious at the same time.

With these thoughts on her mind, she drifted into sleep.

* * *

_'Mudclaw?' The young she-cat spoke quietly in the gloom. Her ears pricked as another cat slipped out of the shadows. _

_'I'm here.' he rumbled, eyes glowing as he moved towards her._

_She rushed forward and rubbed her cheek across his neck, purring softly. He curled around her, pulling her down with him onto the scrubby grass. They lay there, purring, for a while, before he spoke. 'So, Lizardstripe. Have you thought about . . . what I asked you?'_

_Her face fell. 'I have, but . . . I really think . . .'_

_'What?' Mudclaw's face darkened. _

_'This is my destiny! I can't just shake it off like water!'_

_He frowned and pulled away slightly. 'You can if you want to.'_

_Lizardstripe looked up at him, her voice rising slightly. 'That's just it! I don't . . .'_

_She faltered as his face darkened even more, but went on bravely. '. . . I don't want to.'_

_'You don't want to.' The tom repeated her words slowly, looking away with an expression of frustration on his face. 'Why in StarClan's name don't you want to? Don't you realize what you're doing?'_

_She looked at him pleadingly, but he went on. 'You could have had a real future with me. We could have been free, instead of having to meet in secret all the time. Does this really make you happy, Lizardstripe? Losing sleep and skipping work because of us?'_

_'I'd do anything for us,' she said softly, eyes downcast. Mudclaw snorted. 'So you say.' But his tone was kinder now. 'Look, we both know this isn't sensible. We can't keep on doing this if you won't change your mind.'_

_'We'll think of something,' Lizardstripe murmured, sinking her nose into his fur. He leaned forward and licked her cheek, slowly working down the side of her face. Purring, she leaned into him, his scent filling her head. As far as she was concerned, they could go on like this forever. They were perfect, and nothing could come between them._

* * *

Waking up had never been so strange. Lizardstripe slowly squeezed her eyes open, letting in a tiny ray of moonlight. With a start, she realized that Mudclaw had never been here. The dream had been a memory, pushed away as far as it could go. Her nest suddenly felt dreadfully cold.

She laid her head on her forepaws, letting out a long sigh. Vetchwhisker's words somehow worked their way into her mind. '. . . _in his heart, Mudclaw does care for you. The reason why he doesn't show it is because he's afraid.'_

Afraid of what? Lizardstripe felt even colder as she remembered the former medicine cat's warning. _I will be punished,_ she thought. In what form would that punishment come? It was hard enough watching Tanglepaw go her own way, pushed around by her denmates, without adding other troubles.

But somehow, she knew it had not even begun. With a feeling of dreadful certaintly, she knew that more trials than she could have imagined were coming her way. As the law of StarClan and the medicine cat code decreed, she would be punished.

* * *

**lol, I fail at cat romance. XD**

**Did I overuse the word 'punish'. I don't know. . Anyway, tell me what you think! I miss getting emails that say 'new review for Lizardstripe's Secret'. :D**

**And if you have a problem with Brokenpaw's little career choice, please PM me instead of leaving a big complaining review. Thankyou.**


	7. Awkward Walk Home

**You guys. X) When I opened my email, I was like 'HOLY CANNOLI HOW MANY REVIEWS DO I HAVE EXACTLY?' So, in honour of having, umm . . . *counts on fingers* . . . 21 reviews in total! I drew a picture of Tanglekit in the tree. (You know, _that _fox.) It's currently the cover of this story, and there's a link to the picture in my profile. **

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**Chapter Seven: Awkward Walk Home**

The full moon was rising above the trees as ShadowClan made their way to the Gathering. Lizardstripe fell in beside Brokenpaw. Her new apprentice looked slightly downcast.

'Are you okay?' she asked him quietly. 'Not having any problems?'

'No.' he meowed, looking away.

'Was your family okay with your decision?' she pressed. Brokenpaw shrugged.

'Yeah. It's just that . . . I think my father expected me to be a warrior . . .'

Lizardstripe made a sympathetic noise and laid her tail on his shoulders. He moved forward to shake it off.

'It's okay, though.' he said defensively. 'I'm not worried about that.'

'Good. I just thought you looked down, that's all.' she said.

Brokenpaw gave her a half-smile and went on ahead to walk with Sootpaw.

Brokenpaw's ceremony had been the day before. Most of the Clan were happy to have a new medicine cat, and Yellowfang was openly proud of her son. Lizardstripe had not had any family with her on the day she had been apprenticed. Her father had been hit by a monster before her birth, and her mother had caught greencough when she was still a small kit. She vaguely remembered a smudge of creamy brown fur, and the stench of sickness before her mother had been taken away to the medicine den. The other queens had fussed over her, but with no littermates, she had grown up practically alone.

Shaking herself, Lizardstripe looked up to see Fourtrees silhouetted against the silver moonlight. The other Clans were already there, milling around the Great Rock.

Beside her, Tanglepaw gave an uncharacteristic squeak of excitement and poked Sootpaw. The two apprentices' quarrels had been forgotten for the time being. 'Sootpaw! Look!'

'I see it, mouse-brain.' sniffed Sootpaw, but she was obviously excited too. Lizardstripe smiled faintly, remembering her own apprenticeship. She was also glad that Tanglepaw had decided to be a young cat for tonight, instead of putting on her haughty 'I-know-better-than-you' attitude, which made her look older than her age.

The apprentices went off straight away to meet cats from other Clans. Lizardstripe glimpsed Sootpaw and Maplepaw talking with a ThunderClan apprentice. She was about to sit down and wait for the Gathering to start when she saw Featherwhisker making his way towards Brokenpaw. Her ears pricked up as she strained to hear what he was saying.

'. . . so, Brokenpaw, I hear you're ShadowClan's next medicine cat!' the ThunderClan cat was saying. 'Congratulations!'

'Thanks.' mewed Brokenpaw, ears flicking. He glanced briefly at Lizardstripe, calling her with his eyes.

Before she could say anything, Featherwhisker spoke again. 'So . . . how's ShadowClan going? Not had any problems recently, have you?'

Alarm flashed in Brokenpaw's eyes, and Lizardstripe decided to take over. 'Nothing we can't handly, thank you,' she meowed smoothly, padding over to stand beside her apprentice. 'You really shouldn't worry.'

'Oh, I'm not worried.' he replied, shifting uncomfortably. Lizardstripe's tail twitched. There was discomfort all round.

'Well, I think Sunstar wants me now.' Featherwhisker meowed after a few more moments of awkward silence. They watched him dart off to his Clanmates, ears flat with embarrassment.

'What's with _him_?' muttered Brokenpaw. 'Why is he asking about ShadowClan business?' The alarmed look had not completely left his eyes, and Lizardstripe made a mental note to ask him about it later.

'Oh, I forgot to tell you about Featherwhisker,' she said. 'He's ThunderClan's medicine apprentice. He's okay, but he asks too many questions. Don't tell him anything, okay?'

'I won't!' replied Brokenpaw indignantly. Before he could say anything more, there was a yowl from the Great Rock. The medicine cats seated themselves below it, looking up at the four leaders.

'ShadowClan is thriving,' announced Cedarstar. 'We have four new apprentices, Sootpaw, Maplepaw, Tanglepaw, and Brokenpaw. Brokenpaw is apprenticed to Lizardstripe.'

The apprentices sat up straighter as the Clans cheered for them. As Heatherstar began to speak for WindClan, she heard muffled voices coming from the direction of Tanglepaw.

She looked up and saw Tanglepaw arguing with a pair of WindClan apprentices. Brokenpaw noticed too, and ducked his head, as if to avoid the storm that was coming.

Suddenly, the voices broke into a shriek as Tanglepaw leapt onto the apprentices, trying to pin them both down at once. There was a commotion as the surrounding cats tried to pull them apart.

Lizardstripe leapt forward and grabbed Tanglepaw by the scruff, hauling her away from her rivals. The apprentice squealed indignantly, struggling to get free. From the corner of her eye, she saw a reddish-brown RiverClan cat pushing away the other apprentices.

'Thanks, Oakheart,' she meowed through Tanglepaw's fur. He shrugged and backed away.

Cedarstar leapt down from the rock and faced Tanglepaw. 'What did you think you were doing?' he growled.

She refused to meet his eyes, looking directly away.

Lizardstripe set her down none too gently, prodding her with a paw. 'Well? Answer!' she snapped, too angry to be sympathetic.

Tanglepaw scowled. 'I had to! They were—

Cedarstar ignored her, turning to Heatherstar. 'I'm sorry for this apprentice.' he meowed. She shrugged and pretended not to look.

The ShadowClan leader turned back to Tanglepaw. 'You don't deserve to stay for the rest of the Gathering.' He looked up and scanned his warriors. 'Mudclaw. Take her home.'

Lizardstripe jumped in quickly. 'No, I'll take her.' she volunteered, sending Mudclaw furious eye messages in case he said anything potentially stupid.

'You can both go, then,' snapped Cedarstar, making his way back to the rock. 'Just take her away.'

_Oh, StarClan!_ Lizardstripe's ears burned as she nudged Tanglepaw forward. Mudclaw's face was expressionless, like usual. It wasn't until they were out of earshot of the Gathering that he spoke up.

'Exactly what did you think you were doing?' he hissed. Lizardstripe got the feeling he wasn't talking to her.

Tanglepaw made a mutinous noise, but said nothing. Mudclaw seemed to take this as an invitation to go on.

'How many times do you want to shame ShadowClan, you little fur-brain? It wasn't enough to ruin our ambush, was it? What are you going to do next, murder some cat? I don't think you—

'Mudclaw!' snapped Lizardstripe. 'Stop it! You're not exactly encouraging—

'You stay out of this!' shouted Mudclaw. Lizardstripe flattened her ears defensively, ready to answer back, but Tanglepaw interrupted. 'Oh, shut up, both of you!' she growled, and darted forward so that she was several foxlengths ahead of them.

The warrior and medicine cat just looked at each other, silent for once. Finally, Mudclaw opened his mouth to speak, but Lizardstripe beat him to it. 'If you dare say this is my fault, I'll—

'I wasn't going to say it was your fault.' meowed Mudclaw sharply. Lizardstripe stopped whatever she had been going to say next and looked at him, surprised.

He shrugged and looked away. Lizardstripe felt a sudden pang of sadness. She pushed it away indignantly—she had gotten good at doing that nowadays.

They reached the camp without speaking again. Mudclaw nudged Tanglepaw roughly in the direction of the apprentice den. Lizardstripe wandered automatically to her den and slumped in her nest.

Sleep took her quickly, and she floated in a dark dream world. Shadowy shapes darted at her from the corners of her vision, and a cold mist seeped through her fur, making her shiver.

_This is too real to be a dream . . ._

Looking around, Lizardstripe realized that she was standing under dark, twisted trees. That was alarming enough, but she heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere in the gloom.

'. . . but there hasn't even been a _real_ battle yet!' meowed Tanglepaw's voice. 'Just wait until there is! I'll—

Lizardstripe winced as a whacking noise reached her ears. 'Shut up, miserable apprentice,' snarled a new voice, which reminded her of some cat trying to chew pebbles. 'That stupid enthusiasm is going to get you killed one day. _Especially_ if you start fights at Gatherings like you did tonight.'

'But I didn't start it! I was—

'Shut _up_, I said. Now, if you would just listen, I could actually teach you a thing or two.'

'Sorry, Sparrowfeather.' That was weird. Tanglepaw never apologized to anyone. Lizardstripe crawled closer, wishing she could pinpoint the voices. For all she knew, they could be just behind the next tree.

'Well, that's nice of you,' sneered the other cat, presumably Sparrowfeather. 'Now, I've been watching you, apprentice. You haven't been paying attention to your mentor. Or any cat, for that matter.'

'Why have you been watching me?' mewed Tanglepaw, completely disregarding the rest of what Sparrowfeather had said.

'You have potential, kit.' growled Sparrowfeather. 'You have an ambition that your so-called friends don't. With the right training, you could be one of the greatest leaders in the history of the Clans . . .'

Lizardstripe's heart sank down to her paws. This was not where Tanglepaw should be training. She didn't need to have the insights of a medicine cat to know that this dark place was totally evil.

* * *

**Aaaand IT'S THE DARK FOREEEESSTT. *insert creepy steampunk music***

**Please review! **

**I love you. **

**Not really.**


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